RadxMergeFields

RadxMergeFields merges fields from multiple CfRadial files into a single file.

Overview

RadxMergeFields merges fields from multiple CfRadial files into a single file.

Prerequesites

The following items are required:

• Radar data (any Radx supported format, e.g., cfradial)

Parameter file

RadxMergeFields uses one parameter file that includes the basic parameters related to data location and field names, which is similar to the parameter files for the other Radx applications.

Ensure file is up to date

To obtain the default parameter file, use the following command:

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RadxMergeFields -print_params > param_file_name

If you already have a parameter file and simply want to check for (and add) updated parameters while retaining current parameters, use the following command:

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RadxMergeFields -params orig_param_file_name -print_params > new_param_file_name

Important parameters

Data input

• mode: determines if the program waits for new files (REALTIME), moves through start and end times specified on the command line (ARCHIVE), or moves through list of files specified on the command line (FILELIST)

Data locations

• input_datasets: file path, time offset, and time/elevation/azimuth tolerances for files and rays

Specifying fields to copy from each source

• output_fields: field names and encoding

Specifying fields to be combined

• add_combined_fields: determines whether pairs of fields are to be combined using simple algorithms (fields must be included in output_fields)
• combined_fields: fields and combination method (e.g., mean, max, sum)

Output format

• output_format: select the preferred file type (usually CFRADIAL)

Output directory and filename

• output_dir: files will be written to this directory

Running RadxMergeFields

To check all command line options for RadxMergeFields, including debugging options and file paths, type the following command into a terminal.

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RadxMergeFields -h

Once your parameter file is complete, use a command similar to the following to run the application:

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RadxMergeFields -params param_file_name

The user can also specify the location of cfradial files in the following manner:

/path/to/lrose/install/bin/RadxMergeFields -f /path/to/cfradial/files/ -params param_file_name